Smart Internship at Vilnius University – Solutions Proposed by Students Transform into Changes in Organisations

Vilnius University (VU) smart internship for students helps to overcome real organisational challenges. Student-developed ideas and solutions not only become valuable professional experience but also benefit organisations by providing new insights and facilitating operational improvements. For some students, this internship also opens up career opportunities.

Opportunity to contribute to decisions

One team of VU students worked on a task provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), assessing whether travelling Lithuanian citizens with mental disabilities receive sufficient, consistent and practically effective assistance across different legal and geographical contexts.

As Karolina Kievišaitė, a member of the team and student at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science, said, the MFA challenge was different from those presented to other teams.

‘We needed to analyse as thoroughly as possible the legal and practical frameworks of the selected countries for assistance in crisis situations, picking the best option at the team’s discretion. At the end of the internship, we had developed a comprehensive legal analysis of 12 countries, tables of practical assistance models, diagrams of legal systems, their comparison with the Lithuanian system and a questionnaire for embassy staff, which the MFA will share to obtain even more data on the issue,’ the student said.

The student team. Photo from the personal archive of Karolina Kievišaitė.

The work done during the student internship will be adapted within the Ministry. According to Kristina Šaltė, MFA Consular Information Unit advisor, the Ministry intends to use the student-developed legal and practical model for providing consular assistance to persons with mental disabilities.

After completing her internship, Karolina Kievišaitė said she appreciated most the feeling that what she did actually mattered. According to the student, representatives of the MFA were already motivating the students at their first meeting, saying that their work would be particularly useful in the run-up to the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2027.

‘From a practical career perspective, it was a great opportunity to reach out to people outside the university, potential future employers. It was a pleasant surprise how welcoming the organisations involved in the internship are to students. Representatives of many of these organisations have shown a genuine interest in our work since the beginning, and after the internship has ended, we have heard on several occasions that we would be welcome in their teams in the future. It was particularly pleasant for me to hear, as it was the opportunity to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was one of the main reasons why I wanted to enrol in this internship,’ she said.

‘One of the most important advantages is to be able to contribute to solving real issues. Another advantage of this internship is the teamwork experience, and the process of exploring how one can contribute to the collective effort by drawing on their own strengths,’ said Kristina Šaltė, who led the student team.

Students provided valuable insights

Another student team aimed to tackle the challenge set by the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority (SCRPA). They explored how to streamline and modernise consumer information and dispute resolution processes so that Lithuanian consumers have greater confidence in consumer protection authorities and are more likely to contact them.

During the internship, the students developed a user guide, a tool that would make it easier and clearer to submit an application to the SCRPA. According to Aida Gasiūnaitė-Stavginskienė, Deputy Director of the SCRPA, this student-developed tool is now available on the Service’s website.

‘We also appreciate other suggestions made by the students (e.g. organising an exam on consumer rights) and believe that they will contribute to better consumer awareness and the development of new SCRPA traditions in consumer education,’ the interviewee said.

The student team. Photo from Gytis Virketis's personal archive.

After completing his internship, Gytis Virketis, student at the Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences, was able to find his place in the organisation: ‘This internship opened up the opportunity to work at the SCRPA. It also helped to assess which competences are lacking, improve peer-to-peer communication and teamwork.’

According to Aida Gasiūnaitė-Stavginskienė, students’ insights have brought new perspectives to the activities planned by the organisation, including educational initiatives for young people, which the service sees as an important direction for the future.

‘Students’ analysis of the out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes, consumer behaviour and the decisions taken by the SCRPA has highlighted an important aspect: the decision not to contact (or to contact) the SCRPA is often determined not only by a lack of information, but also by emotional factors and the very perception of the process and the experience during it. For example, whether it is clear what the stage of my application is, whether the decisions taken are justified and in line with my expectations,’ she gave the example.